We all know there are a ton of variables with any shot but I have been noticing a trend that anything I shoot with an ELD-X seems to run off farther than with other bullets. I hope it is just weird coincidence as I have stockpiled quite a bit of this ammo in 6.5 creed, 6.5 prc, and 308. I find it to shoot very accurately in all my rifles.

I shoot a decent amount of hogs at my place using either one of the three above or a 300 ham’r with 130gr hot cor, a 243 with plain old 100 gr power points from the 90’s, or a 45-70 using 325 gr ftx.

What I have been noticing is with the ham’r, 243, or 45-70 more often than not any hog I shoot falls dead where it stands. Like 90% of them don’t move more than 5’. With the ELD-X the hogs die but more often than not they are running off anywhere from 25-100 yards.

Again I know animal to animal varies, shot placement is huge, etc but over the past 20 or so hogs I have shot I have noticed the above.I have had three hogs shot with an ELD-X that I knew I hit and saw blood and I never found them. I haven’t lost a hog yet shot with the other bullets. Is this all in my head or are others having issues with these bullets?

Anything is possible and your range may have something to do with it. I had terrible luck with the 130g SST in my 270 on animals under 200 yards, yet the 123g SST in my Grendel has been fantastic, mainly because of its optimal velocity for proper expansion is within the speed of what the Grendel shoots.

I’ve had good results with the 178ELDX as both a target and pig/deer bullet in both 308 and 30-06.

I used it once last year on a good buck, 125 yards broadside.

He ran about 50 yards and piled up, it did punch thru both sides…6.5CM

BP is onto it, I has similar results. I have had them pencil through on most animals when the impact velocity is over 2600 fps. We experienced this last with a doe at 220 yards, and the impact velocity was over 3000 fps. There was just no energy dumped in the animal. Same ammo at 360 yards will put a 200 lb hog in its back where he stands, no exit. I don’t have many years of experience with these bullets, I just started using them two years ago due to availability, and these are my findings.

I started using the ELD-X when they first hit the market and I think they have a place but it's not a "catch all" bullet. It's great for larger game like elk, oryx, etc. but I do not like the performance on Texas whitetails. Myself and my hunting partner have had too many instances of penciling, minimal blood trails and a couple of lost animals. I'd consider it for larger animals but it's not a bullet I'll use for whitetail hunting anymore.

What I have seen with the 6.5 CM factory ammo with the 143 ELD-X, is the muzzle velocity is often pretty slow. Slower than the advertised 2700 fps (I've chronographed them at 2540 fps). The ELD-X is a controlled expansion bullet, which means the copper jacket gets thinker down the shaft of the bullet. They need good velocity to open up. On the 6.5 CM with slower speeds, I just don't think there is enough velocity to reliably expand the bullet properly. The comment I hear the most is the ice picking. When you load it to it's full potential, I think it does ok. But I'd go 140 ELD-M in the 6.5 CM to get better expansion. I also think 143 grains is a little heavy for the 6.5 CM with that style of bullet. If you drop down to the 130 grain weights for the 6.5 CM, you pick up speed to about 2800-2850, and performance greatly improves. A 130 Accubond or 130 ELD-M is good medicine!

I've seen baseball to softball size exits on game from a 300 WM with 212 ELDX from 600 to 800 yards. One of my favorite bullets is the 212 ELD-X. It shoots good and I hear very good feedback on the performance.

I've got good reports from the bullet, across the board. Except for one person with the 6.5mm 143 gr. He told me he had to track a few deer 70 yards. In my opinion, that's shooting vitals, no matter what you're shooting. If you want bang flop, you need to hit the brain stem.

I use the 162 gr in 7mm-08 A.I. Muzzle Velocity 2640 fps and I get 1 1/2" exits in white tail, on shots 250 yards and less.

I think they are like a Berger VLD Hunting. They do better if you run them heavy for cartridge. 200 and 212 gr in .300 Win Mag, and I love getting pics of elk and Moose harvested.

I've shot close to 30 animals with the 6.5 CM/ 143gr ELD-X. I cannot say that any of them have penciled. I shot a 100-120lb hog broadside at 50 yds in the shoulders and it didn't exit, was a perfect mushroom under the opposite hide. He went about 15 yds, blood everywhere. A pronghorn at 199 yds went straight down, heart/lung region. Two central TX WT at 340+, one ran 70 yds, one ran 30, both exits, great blood trails. I'm trying to think of deer at <100 yds. There have been several, none memorable, none went far if at all.

Just another reason the ELD-M is a better choice

I have not shot a ton of critters with it, but, 1 deer and a handfull of pigs have fallen. The deer never took a step after I pulled the trigger, and I have not had a pig travel more than 20-30 yards. 6.5CM at 2800 fps. Shots have been from 80 yards to 520 yards.

I know of 3 different ELD's penciling...I won't use them except on hogs, because I don't care. One was me with a 7-08 AR10, 97y zipped right through a coyote and never did find that thing. Talking to a guide one afternoon that sees a LOT of animals killed every year...his opinion was 200y and in they are unpredictable but 200y+ they are devastating and an awesome bullet.

My opinion...melting tips and all, the Amax was a better bullet than any of the ELD's. I have less than 100 162's left for my AR10 but when they are gone, I won't buy anymore.

I load the 143 ELD-X in my 260 and what I typically see is a small entry, slightly larger exit, and a lot of internal damage. No issues with animals running off. Out of the last 5 or 6 deer I've shot with it, the only "runner" went about 30 yards straight towards me. That one was a heart shot and it took a few seconds to bleed out. I also shot a buck last year with a 180 ELD-M out of my 7 mag. That one was dead before hitting the ground.

Some interesting responses on this thread. Some comments think the ELD-X does bad when it is going too fast and others think it does bad when going too slow. What I have noticed is penciling. Exit wound on recovered animals looks just like entrance wound. Most shots have been in the 100 yard range +/- with 143 gr ELD-X out of a 6.5 CM or 6.5 PRC and a couple with 178 gr ELD-X out of a 308.

Maybe I wrong in my logic but I either want a bullet traveling at least halfway through the animal and stopping delivering 100% of its energy or I want it expanding like crazy and leaving a huge exit hole so there is much larger blood trail to follow.

I guess a related but somewhat different question is I just bought a 7-08 rifle and will be using it on hogs and deer at ranges typically 100-250 yards. What bullet would you recommend?

I like them. I shoot 175’s in 7mm08 and 212’s in 30-06 and a 300 wby. Will try them in 270 when I run out of my stash of partitions.

I hunt with a 7-08 Ackley and I've only shot animals with factory Hornady 139 SSTs. They go off like a grenade. The last Aoudad and WT Buck I shot, a buddy was watching through binoculars and said @#$% %&^$ when they hit because of the red explosion. All that said I'm doing load development with 165 Tipped Gamekings and 162 ELD-Xs and don't know which way I'm going yet.

140 Accubond, 120 ballistic tip will kill any deer or hog on the planet, easily. As far as the 6.5CM goes, I'll take a 139gr Scenar over and ELDX ever made.

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THIS.

I've had better luck with the eld-x when hitting bone or more speed (6.5 PRC vs 260) but I much prefer the consistency of the 139 Scenar. 6.5 PRC and 308 straight hammer animals with the Scenar

I use Sierra 140gr BTSP #1905 with all my 7-08 rifles. Very accurate and expansion is fantastic. I use the 165gr BTSP in my 30-06 rifles, same thing, very accurate and expansion is great again. But Sierra is way behind in keeping up with demand and they can be hard to find. I can't find them at all for my 243, the 100 grain #1560. I'm sure there are people who've had problems with them, but I've never met or talked to any one who did. In my opinion, bullet manufactures are getting too fancy with bullets now, I don't want a bullet that works good at under 200 yards but so so beyond that or vica versa. I still believe the old cup and core bullets do what I want, kill them dead right there.

I read that several times, and the two critiques seem to contradict each other. Am I just misunderstanding how you're saying it, Judd?

Or I did a crappy job articulating my point...when I said zipped right through, penciled is exactly what happened. It's a 16" AR10 and I think they are going 2400 so zipping right through was probably a bad analogy...nothing zipping with that speed LOL! I'm assuming that is the line you're questioning...if it's not clarify RR and I will too.



Noslers are good but they've gotten to arrogant and hard to get...they are pricing them like they are the only bullet that works. No way I'd shoot a $1.00 per shot at hogs. Right now, I'd probably roll with a 140 Berger.

It sounds like your opinion is at odds with what your friend the guide had to say: his opinion was 200y and in they are unpredictable but 200y+ they are devastating and an awesome bullet. You're implying that 2400 fps is just not fast enough for reliable performance (and maybe that's true). I just don't see how the two statements mesh. I'd infer that they gotta be moving faster based on your opinion, but if I thought the guide's opinion was valid I might want to slow em down---especially if I expected shots at less than 200 yards.

It's been kind of a long day at the end of a long week (despite the holiday on Monday). Maybe I'm just wiped out.

The Eld-X is supremely accurate in every rifle I have.

I pushed 3 rounds of the 103 ELD-X out of the 6mm GT last year. Dropped a Nilgai, curious coyote, and a second Nilgai in as many rounds.

That bullet just arrives on-scene and well, stops. Of the three, only the coyote had an exit wound. I note it doesn't do well busting through heavy bone.

I'd be curious to hear comparisons re shot placement. Been thinking about picking up a Ham'r.

X2
Never seen a bullet cause more destruction going slower than he same bullet going faster. I’ve had bullets expand very little but think in general it’s from too little velocity not the other way around.